• Changed Water Taste: The water laden with minerals has a bitter and pungent taste. However, soft water has a somewhat neutral taste. If one notices a rapid change in taste, mineral breakthrough can be an indicator the system needs to be serviced or is failing.
• Produces Less Lather: Another common sign is less soap lather. In hard water, you have it is difficult lather the soap while in the shower. In fact, soft water can make soaps and detergents go further as less is required to do its job.  Hard water causes soap to form a precipitate instead of foam. If this happens, then it is time to address the technical issues of the water softener.
• Laundry Issues: If hard water is used to wash clothes then they may feel scratchy and stiff. Although many times fabric softeners may help you counter this water hardness, they are not a permanent solution. Also, the regular use of hard water may have a severe impact on the functioning of appliances like dishwashers, washing machines, and hot water heaters. Thus, to seek desired results and to protect these appliances from malfunctioning, it is important to check the performance of your water softener.
• Stains and Corrosion Build-Up Around Fixtures and Pipes: If you notice rust near pipes or faucets then perhaps it is an indicator that your softener is not working properly. One may also notice opaque white or rust color rings around sinks, tubs and showers. If ignored, this may require sometimes the entire replacement of fixtures and plumbing.

Water softeners come in several types:

• Ion exchange: This is by far the most common type of water softener in home application. It works by removing calcium and magnesium ions and replacing them with sodium ions, which have none of the damaging effects of calcium and magnesium. This is the familiar device that includes a large tank of salt pellets. If your home has a water softener, it is very likely this type.
• Salt-free: This device uses a mechanical filter to remove calcium, but it doesn’t work very well on very hard water. It does not remove magnesium.
• Reverse osmosis: This device filters water through a semipermeable membrane that removes as much as 98% of water impurities.1 It is an expensive appliance, and it uses a considerable amount of water. But this type of device is very good at removing other chemical impurities, as well as calcium and magnesium. However, the use of reverse osmosis for drinking water can have negative effects. The human body needs minerals, derived from drinking water among other sources. Long term use of reverse osmosis can have unintended consequences and actually deplete the human body of important minerals